Posted by Lou on June 28, 2010
As we well know, cutbacks, specifically coerced reductions in the state workforce, have dire consequences. WRNI’s Scott McKay writes an excellent piece with this very message. Read the article and leave a comment thanking Scott for his support.
In other news, the AFSCME International Convention is going on this week in Boston. The convention page at AFSCME.org has highlights and photos. I was there this morning, and the delegation was fired up by International President Gerald McEntee and thankful for the long service of Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy. Mr. Lucy is retiring after 38 years of service to AFSCME. Keep up to date with the convention RSS feed
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Posted by Lou on June 12, 2010
This Thursday, June 18, our general membership meeting will be held in the 3rd floor cafeteria of 235 Promenade St. There is no major news on the agenda as of right now. If you have something you would like to discuss, feel free to contact us.
Following up on something Ken DeLorenzo and I have mentioned, the Council is working on creating a Next Wave committee to cater to the interests of younger members. To that end, I have created a Facebook page for the Council 94 Next Wave group. You can also stay connected with the Council via the Council 94 Facebook page. If you would like more information about AFSCME’s Next Wave movement, see the AFSCME Next Wave website.
If you are interested in being part of the Next Wave movement, please contact me for more information. Whether you are interested or not, if you under 35 years old, and a member of Local 2881, please fill out this survey and return it to me. I’d consider it a personal favor, and probably even buy you a beer for your trouble!
Posted by Lou on April 28, 2010
…is not the windfall that our critics think it is.
At RIFuture.org, Pat Crowley writes:
A new report written by the non-partisan Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the National Institute on Retirement Security reveals that despite the rhetoric, public sector workers take an economic hit in order to engage in public service. It is time for the hits they take from the media and politicians to stop.
View the full report here.
View the full article by Mr. Crowley here.
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Posted by Lou on March 24, 2009
Over the last two weeks, two very interesting articles have been published speaking the truth about our pension system, and the attacks we are fending off from the governor and house pension study commission. The first is from the Rhode Island Policy Reporter.
Back to the state pension system. Where did our unfunded liability come from? It came from three years of missed payments in the 1990’s, from decades of sweetheart pension deals to legislators and other insiders (awards of pension “credit” for people who didn’t pay into the system), and from some bad guesses our actuaries made. It didn’t come from the employees themselves, who pay 8.75% of their salaries (9.5% for teachers) into the system, a much higher level than most systems require. The pensions are good, but they are paid for.
Read the full article here.
The second article was written as an opinion piece in the Providence Journal by J. Michael Downey, President of AFSCME Council 94, with which our local is affiliated.
We read a lot in the press about the financial woes the pension system is facing — but state employees have never skipped a single payment to the pension. The state’s pattern of haphazard contributions has caused an unfunded liability in the plan, and now the governor wants to punish the workers for the bad decisions made by politicians.
You can read the full article here.
Posted by Lou on March 23, 2009
In order to get your full $500 wellness incentive credit, don’t forget to complete two online health coaching programs at www.myuhc.com. If you are unsure how to log in, or would like help, there will be onsite health coaching assistance at 235 Promenade Street, 4th Floor computer lab on March 31 and April 7 from 11am to 1pm. For our CRMC brothers and sisters, there will be assistance given at the Kingston Campus of URI in the 2nd floor computer lab of the Surge Building on March 30 from 11am to 1pm.
